chicken laid perfect egg in AM, then in PM was acting withdrawn/unwell before dropping a soft shelled egg

[sophiehatter1057]

One of my EEs, who started laying mid-September, laid a perfect egg this morning. This evening, she was isolating herself from the flock. My kids put her on the perch since it was getting dark and the chickens were heading in for the evening. A few minutes later, she dropped a soft shelled egg. No boisterous egg song, like she usually does when laying...it just fell out. Is all of this normal?

 

[Mother of Chaos]

One of my EEs, who started laying mid-September, laid a perfect egg this morning. This evening, she was isolating herself from the flock. My kids put her on the perch since it was getting dark and the chickens were heading in for the evening. A few minutes later, she dropped a soft shelled egg. No boisterous egg song, like she usually does when laying...it just fell out. Is all of this normal?

Very common for newer layers! Mine has done this, too. Sometimes the ovary releases more than one ovum per daily cycle, and one (or both) don’t have enough time to get fully shelled before being laid.

For now, you don’t have to do anything other than keeping an eye on her and ensuring that she has plenty of oyster shell (not the same as digestive grit.)

If it becomes a regular thing, you can start giving her a human calcium/vitamin D supplement, but it’s too early for that. Let her system sort itself out.

 

[sophiehatter1057]

Very common for newer layers! Mine has done this, too. Sometimes the ovary releases more than one ovum per daily cycle, and one (or both) don’t have enough time to get fully shelled before being laid.

For now, you don’t have to do anything other than keeping an eye on her and ensuring that she has plenty of oyster shell (not the same as digestive grit.)

If it becomes a regular thing, you can start giving her a human calcium/vitamin D supplement, but it’s too early for that. Let her system sort itself out.

Thank you so much!

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Thank you so much!

You’re very welcome.